Tellurium (Te)

Tellurium is a brittle, mildly toxic, rare, silver-white metalloid.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Franz-Joseph Mueller von Reichenstein discovered tellurium in 1782 in gold ores from Transylvania, and Martin Klaproth named it in 1798.
• It is rarer in Earth's crust than platinum, and absorbing even traces gives a person garlic-smelling breath.
• Tellurium is key to cadmium telluride thin-film solar panels, bismuth telluride thermoelectric coolers, and rewritable optical discs.

Specifications & Metrics

• NUM: 52
• SYMBOL: Te
• CATEGORY: Metalloid
• ATOMIC MASS: 127.6 u
• ELECTRONEGATIVITY: 2.1 Pauling
• ATOMIC RADIUS: 206 pm
• IONIZATION ENERGY: 9.01 eV
• ELECTRON AFFINITY: 1.971 eV
• MELTING POINT: 722.66 K
• BOILING POINT: 1261 K
• DENSITY: 6.232 g/cm³
• ELECTRON CONFIGURATION: [Kr]5s2 4d10 5p4
• OXIDATION STATES: +6, +4, -2
• STANDARD STATE: Solid
• GROUP BLOCK: Metalloid
• YEAR DISCOVERED: 1782